The current technological revolution has brought about the Age of the Customer—where customers are more empowered to make decisions because they have online, real-time access to information about products and services. Customer expectations are sky-high and now, more than ever, they want personalized products and services.

According to Salesforce, 72-percent of customers and 89-percent of business buyers want companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. Furthermore, 66-percent will go to a competitor if they don’t get the tailored service they feel they deserve. This puts pressure on companies to constantly meet and exceed their customers’ expectations. For companies to maintain their competitive edge against a new generation of digital natives, here are some product challenges to keep in mind:

Functionality

Customers are always on the lookout for products that can give them a seamless, intuitive and consistent experience across platforms and devices. Companies should incorporate customer feedback and treat it as vital input at the onset of the design. Intuitive dashboards and visualization tools are increasingly competitive differentiators for one app over another. And it wouldn’t hurt to incorporate emerging technologies in your interface design such as augmented reality, mixed reality, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.

Time to Market

Time is of the essence, especially when introducing a new product to the customers. The ability to develop a proof of concept or minimum viable product – and rapidly take it to market – is the key to maintaining an edge over your competitors and capture your target customers’ attention.

Security

Nothing turns off a customer more than an insecure product. Always check for bugs or any potential vulnerabilities in your applications or products. It’s important to test and iterate using your customers’ feedback. Vulnerabilities, if left unchecked, will lead to security breaches and will put your customers’ data and your product revenue at risk.

End-of-life Support

Don’t just leave your customers hanging by abruptly stopping support for a product just because it has reached its end of life. By gently transitioning your customers to newer products while still maintaining support for old ones, you will gain their trust and loyalty.

Companies that are continuously capturing customer insights throughout their product development cycle and incorporating it in their design will have a good chance of maintaining their competitive edge in the Age of the Customer. Xoriant can help you confront all the challenges mentioned above. We’ve been developing, growing and supporting products across their full lifecycle for 25 years. With our proven delivery capability across the product lifecycle, we will supplement your team where you need it most – from co-ideation in the development stage to product support at the end of life. Talk to our experts to learn how Xoriant can help you maintain your competitive edge.